After 12 years on run, doctor in molestation case back in Pinellas jail

TBO.com staff

Published: November 1, 2013

Updated: November 1, 2013 at 11:53 AM

A former St. Petersburg physician who fled the United States 12 years ago after being charged with molesting two children was extradited from Morocco on Thursday.

Rory Patrick Doyle, 58, was booked in the Pinellas County Jail to await trial, the U.S. Marshals Service said. For the past 11 months, he had been in custody of Moroccan authorities after coming to that northwest African country from Ireland in August 2012, officials said.

Doyle, who worked for a St. Petersburg allergy and asthma clinic, was originally arrested in July 2000 by St. Petersburg and Treasure Island police on allegations of child molestation that took place between 1994 and 2000. While awaiting trial, Doyle fled the United States for Ireland to avoid prosecution, authorities said.

He was later arrested by Irish authorities on an Interpol alert but was granted a 125,000 euro bail while attempting to fight extradition to the United States, authorities said. His extradition was ordered in January 2010, but he fled that country in December 2011, authorities said.

On Nov. 27, U.S. Marshals learned that Doyle was living in Tangier, Morroco, under the alias of Davis West. U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and Moroccan authorities arrested him without incident at his apartment, officials said. He was returned to the United States 11 months later.

According to Tampa Tribune archives, Doyle was accused of fondling a sleeping 13-year-old at his home in south St. Petersburg and fondling an 8-year-old as she slept at another residence.

According to Pinellas jail records, Doyle faces two counts of fondling a child younger than 16, one count of lewd and lascivious conduct, and a felony charge of failing to appear. He was being held without bail.

“The apprehension of Doyle 12 years after fleeing the Tampa Bay area on child molestation charges shows the priority the United States Marshal Service places on fugitive child sexual offenders,” William “Bill” Berger, U.S. Marshal for the Middle District of Florida, said in a news release.